Plodder for making variegated soap

ABSTRACT

AN IMPROVED PLODDER APPARATUS FOR MAKING A VARIEGATED, STREAKED OR STRIATED MILLED AND PLODDED CLEANSING AGENT, WHICH COMPRISES IN COMBINATION WITH A DOUBLE BARREL VACUUM PLODDER APPARATUS, A VESSEL, UNDER A VACUUM, FOR HOLDING A COLORING FLUID, A CONDUIT FOR FEEDING COLORING FLUID INTO THE VACUUM CHAMBER OF THE PLODDER,   AND A MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF THE COLORING SOLUTION FROM THE VESSEL INTO THE CONDUIT.

Oct. 5, 1,971 R, E. COMPA ETAL 3,609,828

PLODDER FOR MAKING VARIEGATED SOAP Original Filed Feb. 17, 1967 INVENTORS 0rl ,K PMM. m/ 0W COL b), 10.6 rl aL/ Wm) Ev@ /f f k 6M A s /r U .nR ,L d. Y B

ATTOR N FY United States Patent 3,609,828 PLODDER FOR MAKING VARIEGATEDSAP Russell Edward Compa, Emerson, and Marvin Liehowitz, Edison, NJ.,assignors to Colgate-Palmolive Company, New York, N.Y.

Original application Feb. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 616,903, now Patent No.3,485,905, dated Dec. 23, 1969. Divided and this application May 23,1969, Ser. No. 841,175

Int. Ci. C11d 13/18 U.S. Cl. 25-8 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Animproved plodder apparatus for making a variegated, streaked or striatedmilled and plodded cleansing agent, which comprises in combination witha double barrel vacuum plodder apparatus, a vessel, under a vacuum, forholding a coloring fluid, a conduit for feeding coloring fluid into thevacuum chamber of the plodder, and a means for controlling the flow ofthe coloring solution from the vessel into the conduit.

This application is a division of copending application Ser. No.616,903, filed Feb. 17, 1967 now U.S. Pat. 3,485,- 905.

The present invention relates to an improved plodder having means forintroducing solutions or suspensions of materials to be added to ploddedsoap and, more particularly, to an improved plodder for making avariegated, streaked or striated milled and plodded toilet soap bar withor without emollients and/or bacteriostats.

For many years variegated or mottled soaps have been made as a framedsoap and generally of the cold made type.

As emphasized in U.S. Pat. No. 2,649,417 issued to one of the presentinventors, the conventional process of making framed soaps comprisescrutching kettle soap with the desired addition agents such as perfume,builder, filler, air, etc., and running the crutched mixture into aframe where it is allowed to cool and solidify at ambient temperature.The process is described as involving introducing soap particles into aplodder through an evacuated space, plodding the soap at a temperaturein the range of about 70 F. to about 120 F., and extruding the soap fromthe plodder as a bar which may then be cut into cakes, pressed andwrapped. As described in U.S. No. 2,649,417 in the preferred embodimentof the invention kettle soap is crutched with desired addition agents toform a mixture suitable for a laundry or household bar, the mixturechilled without substantial drying to solid form, and the solidifiedsoap which may be taken from a chilling roll in the form of ribbons isthen compacted under a vacuum. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,649,417the soap is discharged from the upper worm into a vacuum chamber throughwhich it falls on to the lower worm from which it is discharged througha nozzle as a bar of any desired cross-sectional configuration.

In contrast` the present invention provides for nonuniform distributionof color to provide striated or speckled variegated bar toilet soaphaving a least two colors in which white is considered a color. That isto say, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatusfor producing bar soap having a basic color, including white, havingstreaks of at least one additional color. In general, a conventionalwhite toilet soap comprising fatty acid soap, white pigment,preservative and perfume is mixed and milled on conventional equipmentand fed into the top worm of a double-barrel vacuum plodder such asdescribed and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,649,417. The soap travelsthrough the top barrel and is extruded therefrom as spaghetti-likefilament and/ or pellets into an Patented Oct. 5, 1971 evacuated chamberenclosing the discharge end of the top worm and the feed end of thebottom worm. Through the housing of the vacuum chamber is introduced atube fabricated of material capable of retaining its shape under avacuum of twenty to twenty-nine inches, substantially inert to the soap,substantially non-corrosive, and preferably of stainless steel. Theaforesaid tube extends into the aforesaid vacuum chamber with itsdischarge end or outlet located over the bottom worm. Attached to theother or inlet end of the aforesaid tube is a feed vessel or hopper keptunder substantially the same pressure as the vacuum chamber of thedouble barrel plodder. A needle valve is interposed between he feedvessel or hopper and the aforesaid tube to regulate the iiow of thesolution from the feed vessel or hopper through the tube to the vacuumchamber between the top and bottom barrels of the double barrel plodder.The feed vessel containing color solution of the concentration toprovide a contrast with the basic color of the feed soap is sealed andkept under substantially the same reduced pressure as is being usedwithin the vacuum chamber. As the pellets and/or spaghetti-likefilaments falls from the top worm through the vacuum chamber to thebottom worm, the needle valve at the feed vessel or hopper is adjustedto cause the solution of color to drop on the pellets and/or filamentsof soap at a rate required to provide the desired streaks in theextruded bar of soap. The extruded bar is cut into desired lengths andpressed.

The milled soap is fed into an opening 10 in any suitable manner andonto a top worm 11 which rotates within an upper cylinder 12. The topworm carries the soap forward, that is from left to right in thedrawing, and at the same time compacts or compresses it and subjects itto a certain amount of levigation. The soap is thus forced through agrinding head 13 and a foraminous plate 14- and through the holes of abacking plate 15 into an evacuated chamber 16. The grinding head 13 isdirectly attached to the worm 11 and rotates with the worm. The screenor foraminous plate 14 consists of a sheet metal disc having a myriad ofsmall holes. It is supported at its periphery by rings 17 and is backedby a heavy plate 15 which has a large number of relatively larger holes.Behind this backing plate is set a four-bladed knife 18, which isdirectly fastened to the worm 11 and rotates with it, thus serving tocut the filaments of soap which `are extruded through the screen 14 bythe upper worm 11 into convenient lengths for feeding to the remainderof the apparatus. The screen 14 and the backing plate 15 are carried byring 19 which is fastened to the upper cylinder 12 by a hinge, so thatwhen it is desirable to clean the screen, access to it may be hadreadily.

The filaments of soap, after being cut into convenient lengths asdescribed above, fall by gravity through an opening 20 onto a lower worm21 (while still under vacuum). While falling through the opening 20, orafter falling through the opening 20, the short filaments of soap arecontacted by a solution of a color owing from a container 21a through atube 22 under control of a valve 23, which preferably is a valvepermitting close control of the ow of liquid in the tube 22, such as aneedle valve. The container 21a is maintained under substantially thesame reduced pressure, i.e., 20 to 29 inches of vacuum, as the chamber16, in any suitable manner. The lower worm 21 rotates in a lowercylinder 25 and compacts and forces the soap forward through a nozzle26. This nozzle is constructed in the usual fashion and is provided witha nozzle jacket 27.

Preferably, the nozzle 26 is one having cutting edges which shave-oft`the outer one-thirtysecond to one-sixteenth (152 to 1/16) of an inch ofthe surface as the bar is extruded through the nozzle. For example, thestructure described in Austrian Pat. No. 95,947 (Sept. 15,

1923) gives satisfactory results. The trimmings so produced can bereturned to the mixed when the base color of a succeeding batch is thesame as or similar to that used as the second color in the batch fromwhich the aforesaid trimmings are obtained. Thus, blue trimmings can beadded to a batch having blue as the base color.

Both the upper cylinder 12 and the lower cylinder 2S are provided withfins 28 and jackets 29 s0 that coolant can be circulated around thecylinders 12` and 25 to maintain the temperature of the soap beingforced through the cylinders by the worms sufficiently low to ensure theproduction of a bar of soap of proper consistency and plasticity inaccordance with ordinary practice. The present invention contemplatessubjecting the extruded bar to a conditioning step prior to the pressingoperation, if desired. This conditioning operation may precede or followthe cutting of the extruded bar into individual cages and it can becarried out in any one or more of a number of different ways as brieydescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,649,417.

Illustrative of the production of bars of soap having variegatedappearance are the following examples:

EXAMPLE I Blue streaks on white Chips of soap comprising 15 percentcoconut fatty acid soap and 85 percent hydrogenated tallow acids sodiumsoap are mixed with titanium dioxide, preservative and perfume in theproportions given hereinafter.

Ingredient: Wt. percent 15:85 coco:tallow sodium soap chips 98.10Titanium dioxide 0.50

Preservative 0.20

Perfume 1.20

The soap chips, white pigment, preservative, and perfume are mixed andmilled. The milled chips are fed into the top worm of a double-barrelvacuum plodder. As the filaments drop through opening 20 a live percentaqueous solution of a compatible dye such as Heliogen-Blue is droppedonto the filaments and/or pellets at a predetermined rate to produce thedesired streaks of the desired depth of color. Since the number ofstreaks and the depth of color is a matter of aesthetics, the rate offlow is a matter of local opinion and can be as low as :1 gram per poundof soap.

EXAMPLE Il Blue streaks on blue soap Milled soap chips having thecomposition given hereinafter are fed to the top worm of a double-barrelplodder.

1 See the following table Percent Deionized water 11 Borax Potassiumcarbonate Beeswax Paratin, M.P. 52.5 Lanolin. anhydrous Mineral oil(light) specific gravity at 15.0 C.

0.840 to 0.870; viscosity SUS at 100 F. So- 95 seconds: finsh point'laglibuc closetLcUp 330 F. minimum As the soap chips fall through theopening 20 they are contacted at the rate of about one gram of solutionper pound of soap with a 50/ 50 blend by weight of a two percentsolution of D&C No. 5 green dye and a one percent solution of extractD&C lviolet No. 2 dye.

EXAMPLE III Blue streaks on blue soap Ingredient: Wt. percent 15:85cocoztallow sodium soap chips 95.470 Titanium dioxide i 0.150 Aqueous50% stannic chloride 0.200

2% aqueous solution D&C No. 5, green dye 0.125 1% solution external D&CNo. 2 violet dye 0.125 50% aqueous sodium salt of B-gluco-heptonic acidi 0.200

Trichlorocarbanilide 1.000 Cold cream 1 1.500

Perfume i 0.980

1 See the following table: Percent Deionized Water 11.35 Borax 0.10Potassium carbonate 0.05 Beeswax 2.95 Paran, M.P. 52.5 C 4.05 Lanolin.anhydrous 66.70 Mineral oil (light) specific gravity at 15.6 C.

0.840 to 0.870; viscosity SUS at 100 F. 80- seconds; llash pointTaglibue closed-cup 330 F. minimum 14.80

Milled soap chips having the composition set forth in -Example 'III arefed to the top worm of a double-barrel plodder. As the chips fallthrough the opening 20 they are contacted at the rate of about 0.5 gramof solution per pound of soap with a 50/50 weight blend of a two percentsolution of lD&C Green yNo. 5 dye and a one percent solution of D&CViolet No. 2 dye.

The color or if desired color and additional constituent such asemollient, can be added simultaneously through the tube 22. When bothcolor and emollient are added and particularly when the mixture is in apaste or slurry form, the valve 23 can be eliminated and a smallpositive displacement pump synchronized with the plodder drive employed.

The blanks cut from the extruded bar can be pressed on a conventionalrotary press or on a modified pin die press. When the latter press isused the bars can be pressed on end, which gives an interesting andunusual design seemingly emanating from the center of the bar.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a double barrel vacuum plodder of the typecomprising a top worm having a feed end and a discharge end, a bottomWorm having a feed end and a discharge end, a casing for each of saidworms, an evacuated chamber enclosing the discharge end of the top wormand the feed end of the bottom Worm, wherein the improvement comprises ashape retaining conduit having an inlet and outlet end, said conduitextending into the evacuated chamber and its outlet end located over thebottom Worm, a vessel for holding coloring solution attached to theinlet of said conduit, said vessel being sealed and under pressuresimilar to that in the evacuated chamber, and means for regulating theilow of said solution, positioned between the inlet and outlet of saidconduit, said improvement producing cleansing agents having a basiccolor. including white, and having streaks of at least one additionalcolor.

2.1An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said conduit is astainless steel tube.

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said flow regulaingmeans is a needle valve.

(References on following page) 5 References Cited 3,268,970 S/1966 Kelly25-8 3,352,952 ll/1967 Marr 18-12SNX UNITED STATES PATENTS l I 9/1942Mins 25 8 J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER,IPr1mary Exammer 9 /1942 Garvey 264 245X5 B. D. TOBOR, Assisant Exammer 5/1953 Marshall 25-8 U S C1. X'R' 8/1953Compa 252-131X 18-12 SN, l2 SS

